Modernizing the Federal Statistical System

The purpose of this project is to facilitate the development of options for strengthening the federal statistical system in the current policy environment. The steering group for the project includes Bill Beach, Erica Groshen, Nancy Potok, Shelly Martinez, Jen Park, Steve Pierson, and Michelle Crosby, with Connie Citro serving as a consultant, The groups’ plans include hosting four meetings and producing a thought paper to ground broad discourse and advise on the strategic implementation of a structure suited to the needs of a 21st century federal statistical system.

The project held its first meeting on June 24th. The objective was to frame discussions about the optimal structure for a 21st century federal statistical system. To encourage agile, informed, and candid conversation, a small number of individuals deeply invested in the production and use of federal data were invited. As a courtesy, invitees did not include current federal staff. A document prepared in advance of the June 24 meeting is available here and the June 24 attendees list, here. A high-level summary of the meeting is available here.

A second meeting was held on August 19th, the participant list for which is available here. The objective of this second meeting was to identify data user needs and their relationship to a modern, user-driven federal statistical system (FSS) in light of the current policy environment. Attendees were primarily individuals in the private and state sectors who are engaged consumers of federal data products. A high-level summary of the meeting outcome is available here. 

A third meeting occurred on October 21. The meeting’s objective was to introduce and receive feedback on  some initial recommendations of our emerging strategy. The previewed recommendations did not reflect the full scope of anticipated recommendations; instead, they were selected as example recommendations that align closely with current policy priorities.  We also discussed the best ways to engage with decision makers within the Administration and Congress, media, higher education and foundations to establish support for and enact project recommendations. As with the first two meetings, the third meeting relied on broad engagement for the success of the project. A high-level summary of the meeting outcome is available here and the attendees, here. 

The project team was also invited to co-host a roundtable on their project at the November 6th event, Federal Statistics For Economic Security, hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The slides are available here.

We have received extraordinary feedback from participants to date. We intend the final product to reflect the sum of these inputs and to contribute to ongoing, broader conversations through continued engagement. If funded, the period of activity for this project is June 2025 to April 2026.

For more information, contact ASA Director of Science Policy Steve Pierson and stay tuned to this site for updates and calls for input as the project advances.